Both Covington and Tri-County North rolled over National Trail before battling head to head in a dual that could have easily went either way. The Buccs defeated the Trail Blazers by a score of 60-12, while the Panthers won 48-6. Covington and Tri-County North have developed a history of having their duals decided by the closest of margins. This contest was no different as the Buccs managed to go undefeated on the day by edging the Panthers, 36-35.
In a strategic move, Covington bumped their 135 through 152 lb. wrestlers up a weight class in an attempt to gain a competitive edge over the Panthers. The move paid off as Ben Adams, Brandon Hartzell and Ryan Vanderhorst each gained victories. Most important, however, was the fact that Bobby Wiltshire, who lost his match at 140 lbs., managed to keep from getting pinned, giving the Buccs one more point than they likely would have gotten had they stuck with their usual line-up.
Going 2-0 for Covington were 119 lber. Mitchell Herron, 125 lber. Ritchie Watkins, 130 lber. Ryan White, 140 lber. Ben Adams, 145 lber. Brandon Hartzell (1 pin) and 171 lber. Brian Ely (2 pins). Recording one victory each were 103 lber. Michael Corkhum (1-0), 135 lber. Bobby Wiltshire (1-1), 152 lber. Justin Owens (1-0), 160 lber. Ryan Vanderhorst (1-1) and 189 lber. Logan Brown (1-1, 1 pin). Brown lost his first match of the season to North’s Eric Wright, one of the top 189 lbers. in the state.
The Covington jr. high team competed on an adjacent match and also went undefeated on the day, sweeping Tri-County North, 49-21, and National Trail, 58-12. Going 2-0 were 80 lber. Sam Herron (2 pins), 98 lber. Tony Howard, 104 lber. Cody Swabb, 110 lber. Jake Jennings (1 pin), 116 lber. Zach Gibson (1 pin), 122 lber. Clark Manson and 142 lber. Logan Hall (1 pin). Recording one win each were 86 lber. Quinten Layman (1-1), 128 lber. Dan Mead (1-0), 134 lber. Justin McMillion (1-1, 1 tech. fall) and 172 lber. Jake Wise (1-1).
The Covington HS wrestling team will be back in action at the Troy Invitation on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 2-3.
